My compliments, sir. I have lurked and been reading around here quite a bit and your posts are consistently honest, genuine, and without agenda or rancor. I very much appreciate them and you.

What you say is entirely logical and the math cannot be refuted. The extra $60K between now and the end of 2018 is very significant indeed. Especially were the economy/markets to take a hit between now and then, making up for (or at least mitigating) any losses in a 401K. It's is essentially getting paid for 4 years while only working 3.

Also, regardless of what happens after the expiration of the bonus at the end of 2018, one is still $50-$60k to the better no matter what happens after that. For the new-hire for whom all else is essentially equal, this is a no-brainer.